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Just six games into the season, Brewers already showing knack for pulling out one-run games

CINCINNATI – Because shortstop Orlando Arcia saves so many runs with his stellar work in the field, he doesn’t have to hit a ton to be valuable to the Milwaukee Brewers.

But Arcia does have to contribute something offensively. The Brewers certainly don’t want a repeat of last season, when he was sent down twice to the minors because of long hitting slumps.

Thus, it was a big exhale across the visiting dugout at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday night that Arcia delivered his first hit of the season after a 0-for-16 start. And it was a big one. A really big one.

Arcia’s opposite-field, three-run home run off reliever Michael Lorenzen in the sixth inning snapped a 1-1 and proved to be the key blow as the Brewers took a second consecutive 4-3 victory from the Cincinnati Reds. It was their fourth one-run victory and boosted their overall mark to 5-1.

A 0-for-16 skid in July or August is not that big a deal for a hitter. But when you start the season in that fashion and you keep seeing .000 next to your name on the scoreboard when you come to the plate, it’s impossible not to notice. And nearly impossible to stop from pressing.

“I’ve been working hard every day,” Arcia said. “Thankfully, the first one came. You’ve got to keep your mind strong. It’s part of the game. Once the first one falls, you know they’re going to keep falling. You’ve just got to stay positive and keep your head up.”

Arcia’s blow was the big offensive moment for the Brewers on an otherwise quiet night for the offense but there were a handful of pitching contributions in squeezing out another win over the Reds. Jhoulys Chacín was sharp at the outset, retiring the first 10 hitters before finding some trouble, in part because of costly walks.

Former starter Junior Guerra turned in an outing just as important, if not more, out of the bullpen by covering 2 1/3 innings to get to Josh Hader with a one-run lead in the ninth. With Corey Knebel out for the season and facing Tommy John surgery Wednesday and Jeremy Jeffress still in Arizona trying to recover from shoulder weakness, the bullpen has been more of a scramble for manager Craig Counsell at the outset of this season.

Guerra already has made three appearances, covering five innings, and figures to be a well-used weapon when Counsell needs multiple outs.

“That’s seven outs, and you think about the first out he got was second-and-third (in the sixth inning) in a 4-2 game; a really big spot,” Counsell said. “It was a tough spot to come in, so not only are you getting seven outs, you’re getting a big out in a jam right there.

“This is what we thought Junior could do. I feel good with him against both lefties and righties. That’s a big thing, too. He has been valuable so far.”

Then, it was up to Hader, who is being used in more conventional fashion as a closer instead of the multi-inning outings of last season, when Jeffress and Hader were there to pick up the slack.

“Josh said he felt good today; he was really adamant that he felt good,” said Counsell, who used Hader for the first time on consecutive days. “So, we put him back out there.

“We’ve used him a little differently in the first week of the season. Not by plan but more by circumstance. And he has done a great job. The games have been of that nature. That’s four one-run wins already. The rest of the guys in the bullpen have done a nice job to set him up and allow us to use him like this.”

For the first time this season, Hader threw something other than a fastball. After throwing 47 in a row, he showed Jose Iglesias a second-pitch changeup to open the ninth, and later a slider, but ended up walking him.

After that, it was exclusively fastballs. Hader needed only three each to strike out Tucker Barnhart and Jose Peraza, then three more to retire pinch-hitter Kyle Farmer on a foul pop-up.

For those scoring at home, Hader has thrown 62 pitches this season, including 60 fastballs.

Asked about being used in more conventional fashion as a closer, Hader said, “I just like being out there and being able to pitch, and help the team out any way I can. I was facing these guys back to back, so I tried to mix it up a little in the (strike) zone.

“It’s how the games are being dictated. We’ve got plenty of arms down there to fill in those innings. Like last year, everybody is an out-getter.”